Lennon glasses expected to fetch $4m

Spectacles belonging to late rocker John Lennon are expected to fetch $2m (€2.9m) at an online auction.

The prized items went on sale on Thursday on music memorabilia website www.991.com.

The last pair of Lennon's glasses sold in 2002 are insured for $2m (€2.9m).

The former Beatle gave a pair of gold rimmed glasses to Japanese translator Junishi Yore during the band's 1966 tour of Japan. The glasses come without the lenses as Yore took them out as a sign of respect when he heard of Lennon's murder in 1980 - as tradition dictates in Japan.

The glasses come with a note from Yore, which reads: "He (Lennon) gave me this … very nice man. Lenses removed when he die."

The auction closes at the end of the month.